Episode 73: Expo West 2026 Gluten-Free Finds

In this episode, Erica shares her favorite Expo West 2026 gluten-free finds with Jules, who was unable to attend the show. While the ladies chat about innovation in the aisles, they also warn about the importance of reading labels every time - especially with new products, Alpha-Gal in the times of beef tallow, and RFK Jr. and anything MAHA promotes. 

BRANDS MENTIONED: 

Rudi's Gluten Free

Banza

Every Body Eat

Gotham Greens

Simple Mills

Partake

Made Good

Good Pop

Oatly

Siete

Sweet Loren's

Goodie Girl

Lil' Bucks

Quinn

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Transcript

Erica [00:00:06]:
Hey, I'm Erica.

Jules [00:00:14]:
And I'm Jules. Most people have at least one thing that they can't or won't eat.

Erica [00:00:19]:
Yeah, we're definitely like that.

Jules [00:00:21]:
We started this podcast to talk about the gluten-free food industry.

Erica [00:00:25]:
Like new products and some of the stories behind your favorite brands.

Jules [00:00:29]:
And living life with a specialty diet and also some important healthcare topics.

Erica [00:00:34]:
Since we're basically both broken inside.

Jules [00:00:36]:
You Had Me at Eat.

Erica [00:00:37]:
Whatever, man. Whatever.

Erica [00:00:42]:
I can't deal with this shit anymore. Whatever, man.

Erica [00:00:45]:
Whatever, man. Um, hello and welcome to another episode of You Had Me at Eat. I'm Erica.

Jules [00:00:52]:
And I'm Jules.

Erica [00:00:56]:
And here we are. It's March.

Jules [00:01:01]:
Every time we start out, it's like I just start laughing. I don't know why. I'm just so happy to see your smiling face, I think.

Erica [00:01:08]:
Because I'm just such a mess. You're like, whoa, this girl.

Jules [00:01:11]:
No, no, no, no.

Erica [00:01:12]:
It's always unstable.

Jules [00:01:13]:
So nice to get to do this show with you.

Erica [00:01:16]:
So, oh, it's so lovely to see you, Jules. I am fresh off the show floor at Expo West. Unfortunately, you could not join me because you were also on another show floor.

Jules [00:01:26]:
I was. A very different show floor. A lot less, a lot less people at my show. Fewer people. Fewer people on my show. Yes. Different show. But I want to hear about your show.

Jules [00:01:38]:
So let's talk about Expo West because I have a little bit of FOMO. This is the first year I haven't been in, what, like 14 years or something like that? Kind of crazy.

Erica [00:01:50]:
It's very strange to not have you there, believe me. So this year was hard because I also work the show floor. So for me, like, I could not see everything. So I relied a lot on, like, my friends, and there's always a great cohort of bloggers that come that are gluten-free that see everything. So I'm, like, literally taking screenshots of everything that they do. So I, you know, it's a weird show because first of all, it's a trade show, right?

Jules [00:02:21]:
So we've talked about this before.

Erica [00:02:22]:
Not everyone can attend this show.

Jules [00:02:26]:
No, the question we always get when we do these recaps from listeners.

Erica [00:02:30]:
Can I go?

Jules [00:02:31]:
Can I go? And so just—

Erica [00:02:33]:
and you're like, you don't want to go.

Jules [00:02:35]:
Yeah, people are like so tired after this show. But no, it's— it is a trade show, meaning it's for people in the industry, um, but it's not for just, you know, regular consumers. And it's— it's huge. It's what, 70,000 people now? Something.

Erica [00:02:51]:
I mean, I think it's more than that. They're so It's so, it's so many that the city of Anaheim, the Anaheim Convention Center, actually like made another wing in order to fit everyone, um, several years ago. So trade show, it's huge, it's wild, it's like you have to get there at 6 AM for parking. It's like, it's like a Taylor Swift show for 5 days. And like, there are so many people, you're standing shoulder to shoulder, it's like COVID never happened. Yeah, it is so intense. I can't describe it to people until they come and then they like look around like, yeah, oh my god, this is happening.

Jules [00:03:33]:
Yeah, it's not just for gluten-free food also. A lot of people don't understand. In fact, it's mostly not gluten-free. So it's for— it's called Natural Products Expo. So it's foods, it's supplements, it's, you know, healthcare, bath and body. Yeah, it's, it's pet products. It's all kinds of things that are considered themselves to be natural. And that's also a broad spectrum of things that you may not actually think are necessarily natural.

Jules [00:04:08]:
Some things are, you know, sort of shoehorned into that, but they're supposed to be.

Erica [00:04:13]:
Yeah. I mean, imagine you walk into a Whole Foods, right? You think of all those brands that are there, including fruit and vegetables. Like, think about all those brands that line the shelves. Now imagine each one had a 10 by 10 or 10 by 20 booth. Think about all those brands together making a giant— I mean, that's, that's exactly what it is, and it is wild. Um, so every year it's a little bit more overwhelming, and, um, this year was no different. So it was just a lot, and unfortunately, again, I had to rely on secondary or share resources to help me source what the trends are and what the products, because I didn't get a chance to see everything. But again, it is overwhelming.

Erica [00:05:00]:
And I do have a couple trends for you.

Jules [00:05:03]:
Yeah, that's what I wanted to ask you. First of all, I wanted to ask about trends because that even, you know, even if you weren't able to go to every single booth, which even if you had walked the show, you can't hit every single booth. There's no way you'll be able to hit them all. Even though you try. So, you know, you're gonna miss something. So what the big takeaways usually are, are what's coming. So a lot of the things that are released at this show are definitely not on the store shelves because what the vendors who are there are showing their wares, so to speak, to buyers— that's who are walking the show— to distributors, brokers, and to press. And that's You know, when, when I go, when Erica goes, we go as press.

Jules [00:05:47]:
And so we're talking about these things that are coming, and the people who are showing at the booths are hoping that stores will pick up their items. And so they're, they're talking about how great they are, and they're trying to get stores to say, yeah, we think they're great too, and we're gonna put these in our shelves and in our refrigerator sections and things like that. So you may or may not see the things that are on the store or on the show floor coming in the future, and it depends on how well they're received. So you'll see trends, and that's what I really wanted to talk to you about mostly, because again, you might not see all the individual things, but you'll see trends, you'll see overarching kinds of themes that will definitely be in the stores coming up. So what are some of the themes that you took away from Expo this year?

Erica [00:06:38]:
Yeah, unfortunately for both of us, we have some trends that are like not very friendly towards, um, I don't know, people who eat like us. So I think the biggest trend, and this is going to be a rough one for vegetarians and vegans, is they literally are putting beef tallow in everything. It got to a point where my vegan friend and I, Ryanne, watching— walking the show floor. She's a dietitian. She's just like, I just started taking pictures of everything because it's just so hilarious.

Jules [00:07:12]:
Yeah.

Erica [00:07:13]:
Um, so beef tallow is in everything, even when you don't expect it. But like, beef tallow chips for some reason are like just the biggest thing. And like, do I blame RFK and his pseudoscience and his absolute love for beef tallow to like be a part of this trend? Yes. I just don't understand if consumers understand if it's even helpful to them. I don't, I don't get it personally. I don't, I don't see the appeal, but I also don't eat cows. So yeah, I don't know. It was just so, it was so weird, Jules.

Erica [00:07:52]:
It was so weird. Yeah.

Jules [00:07:55]:
Well, so what kinds of things did you see beef tallow in? Was it in, was it like oils.

Erica [00:08:01]:
I mean, yeah, mostly. So it's anything that was an oil would be like a beef tallow. But I think the biggest things were like, um, were gonna be like chips or things fried in beef tallow. Um, you know, it's in personal care, we know that, but it's just, it's everywhere.

Jules [00:08:19]:
Well, and I think the, the trend is also that you're going to start seeing this in restaurants. So you're going to start seeing fries that are fried in these animal products as well. And, you know, for those of you who aren't aware of it, McDonald's french fries, for example, they have, you know, gone in and out of having lots of, you know, different ingredients. I think it was— what is it— 17 different ingredients for a McDonald's french fry, which is kind of crazy for a potato. But one of them is wheat flavor, you know, in the flavoring. And then one of them is meat-based, the beef flavor. And so you do need to be aware of those types of things if you can't have them or choose not to. And by can't have, there are people who have actual allergies to beef.

Jules [00:09:11]:
And with the alpha-gal syndrome that is becoming more and more prevalent now, and that's just something that I find very interesting, that there's becoming more and more people who cannot have that, who have actual physical health issues with it. And it's on the upswing at the same time that you're getting more and more of those things injected into products as an ingredient or as an oil that's being used to fry those products. So now it's incumbent upon people who can't have or don't choose to have that to ask even more questions, not just about consumer packaged goods, but also in restaurants about what the oils are that are used to prepare the foods.

Erica [00:09:55]:
So not that someone with alpha-gal is going to go into like a Steak 'n Shake or whatever the hell that place is that only does their fries in beef tallow or whatever that RFK did. Gross. But still, it's something to know. And I think the biggest thing is— and, and this will go on to my next one— is, uh, I think you just need to be aware of these so in case you are one of that small percentage of people that can't do it, you're going to need to know in the future to really double-check things that you thought were— that you thought were safe. Um, the next one, which kind of goes along the same way, is whey protein being added into like literally everything, including drinks. Um, and as you know, if you have a milk allergy, um, it's, uh, it's still considered dairy to have whey protein. And also, it's not just whey protein, they're also using milk protein, so you've got casein in there as well. So if you're dairy intolerant or an allergy, like you've really got a lot of things coming your way that you need to be cognizant of.

Jules [00:10:56]:
Well, protein is one of those things that's a huge trend.

Erica [00:11:00]:
Huge trend. For 5 years. For 5 years.

Jules [00:11:02]:
It's been huge. And again, with the RFK Maha stuff, they're saying that you should have more protein, and so they're trying to wedge that in everywhere, and whey is one of the easiest ways to do that. So yeah, you need to be aware of that. Whey and casein are both proteins that are found in milk, and so they should be identified as milk called out on a food product label for consumer packaged goods. But again, when you're in like a restaurant setting or something like that, it's not necessarily going to be called out and you need to be sure that you're asking those questions.

Erica [00:11:42]:
Yeah. And remember, if you're lactose intolerant or you, you may not know if you actually have an issue with lactose, which which is the sugar in dairy, or if you have a problem with dairy in general, which is the whey and the casein and all the other things in the milk proteins. So it's just a very slippery slope when it comes to anyone if you're, if you're intolerant, but it's in practically everything. I mean, it's really in like we know that it's been in bread, but like people adding it into bread to add in protein. So that kind of piggybacks off— right. That piggybacks off the fact that like literally everything has protein added into it. So if you think about a protein water, like how are they getting that water to have protein in it, it's going to be whey. So it really, it's hand in hand with this aspect of like, hey, everyone's asking for more protein and things that are not typically what you would find protein in.

Erica [00:12:31]:
So how are they adding it in? So you've got to think about it.

Jules [00:12:35]:
Yeah, too big trends sucks, sucks.

Erica [00:12:40]:
Uh, and I think the other thing that we saw is, um, I think that people are— how do I say this? I mean, like, people understand that, um, that gluten-free is important, right? Um, but I also think that they understand that it is a limited market, and I think that we see that in some brands adding in a gluten line Um, I— we know about Rudi's, right? So Rudi's has always had an organic line that contains wheat, and Rudi's Gluten-Free is a separate brand under the same umbrella that has like the Sandos, right? Um, but I think it's important to know if you have a very similar product, there's a wheat ponant, a wheat brand, and a gluten-free brand, and they all might look the same on the shelf. There's a wheat ponant. Like a wheat component, a wheatponate.

Jules [00:13:40]:
Exactly.

Erica [00:13:41]:
You know, you're gonna see them on the store shelves and they're gonna be next to each other, so you just have to be very cognizant. So I think a very interesting pivot that a couple brands did this year, um, and I think the biggest one is going to be Banza. So Banza introduced a wheat line, um, and so I, I talked to the CEO.

Jules [00:13:57]:
Yeah, that's disappointing.

Erica [00:13:59]:
Different, um, different lines, so not something that we would be able to minimal cross-contamination. So I think they're doing it in the right way, but it's always a bummer to see some brands that are gluten-free—

Jules [00:14:21]:
yeah—

Erica [00:14:22]:
expand their line into containing gluten. Now I understand their whole shtick from the beginning was eat more chickpeas. They happen to just be a gluten-free product, right? And they did it the right way. Whatever. But I think they also understand that it's like, okay, great, if we can integrate chickpeas into other things like wheat. Yeah, like let's add that and increase the yield of chickpeas and increase how many other people are eating chickpeas. They're getting into regenerative agriculture. They're getting into like knowing your farmer.

Erica [00:14:50]:
Like, I feel like they're truly doing it right. It's gonna piss a lot of people off that are gluten-free because it's just— it's shocking to see something that you thought that started out as a gluten-free, a naturally gluten-free company that got all the certs right, but then switches to something that is gluten-containing and And Veggies Made Good is another one that also launched like a wheat-containing product. Like, it's just like, you got— you have to understand that like, we're a small percentage of people. And as much as I would like to think that everything could be made gluten-free because it's just easier, some people, when it comes to their mission and what they want to do for the Veggies Made Good or whatever that brand is, the one in Costco, um, they are trying to get people to eat more veggies, right? So like, if it aligns with their mission, that's fine. Not everything has to be gluten-free. Brand that's made just for us. Sometimes they, they have to make a product that aligns more with their mission to get more people to eat chickpeas or get more people to eat veggies. I get that.

Erica [00:15:43]:
It's just unfortunate when we have to now be cognizant as a consumer to know that there are different, um, yeah, options on the store shelves that may confuse people. Now thankfully, thankfully, Banza has a completely different color line for this. It's blue. So chickpeas, orange. Rice, brown rice that they just launched, green. Wheat, blue. So like they have different colors for everything. So keep it in your color block family.

Erica [00:16:14]:
Please don't ever screw that up. Yeah, but like they are doing it in the right way. And I talked to the CEO about it and, um, you know, he's aware that like this can be scary, like, but I believe that they're doing it in the right way. To hopefully not confuse consumers on the shelves because we've seen too many packages that are just so similar.

Jules [00:16:33]:
So many brands have both and the packaging is just like nearly identical. And it's confusing for the stores too because they'll, they'll take it and put it in the wrong place. Right. And then the consumer will pick it up and yeah, that's really bad. So yeah.

Erica [00:16:50]:
Yeah. So it is what it is. But I also think that that goes along the trend of like they're doing it to FiberMaxxx and ProteinMaxxx, which are like the two big things that are everyone's looking for this year, um, which is great. We love protein and we love fiber. I wish it didn't demonize everything else in your diet. Um, but I think that the, the trends are— start obviously from the top of consumer demand. And I think they're seeing that with someone like when MAHA got elected, right? Um, they see that, they're like, oh, people are asking for this, right? But it's also like, we'll see how far this goes because I was in Erewhon and there's beef, beef tallow potato chips that are $8 for a small bag. And I'm like, this can't be sustainable in reality.

Erica [00:17:40]:
Like Erewhon, Erewhon's not a real place. Erewhon's like this magic place. And like, I get it. I did demos all frickin' summer long there. And I just got back from doing demos there. It's a magical place, but it's also not rooted in reality.

Jules [00:17:54]:
Yeah.

Erica [00:17:55]:
Like you can't— normal consumers can't afford an $8 thing of of beef tallow potato chips. And that's kind of when it gets to the point of like, okay, let's think about the haves and the have-nots and retail inequality. Another great book, by the way, Retail Inequality is actually the name of the book, I believe. And it talks about like, these are great trends for like whatever the trends, but it will come trickle down into the general grocery stores. And when it gets there, and you have this health halo of like, I heard beef tallow is far better for me than canola oil or whatever seed oils, because we're demonizing seed oils and lifting up beef tallow for some reason. Are they going to have to sacrifice things on their shopping cart in order to afford this higher price point product because of the health halo that was made by all of these stores in the ether of this affluent, like, halo of, like, the Arawans and the trends that come from Expo West? Does that trickle down to the average consumer who has a hard time enough paying for groceries, period? Do we really need to convince them that they should be— they're doing themselves and their family a disservice by not buying something cooked in beef tallow over something else that's like 3 times cheaper? So it's all those questions that's like, okay, I see that from the natural product industry, which has this health halo and this affluence halo because our consumers are a bit more affluent. When it comes to trickle down to reality, what does this mean for the consumer? And I think that that's kind of scary about beef tallow.

Jules [00:19:28]:
Yeah, that's a great point. That's a really good point because it is going to make its way to the grocery store. And what is the messaging? I mean, and I hate that seed oil messaging because I mean, it's a, it's very affordable and, you know, somebody picked up somewhere some tagline and has now—

Erica [00:19:49]:
and not rooted in science because of course not. So yeah, so those are the trends. I mean, obviously we still got the trends of like There are mushrooms in everything. Cool.

Jules [00:20:00]:
I love that. I know, I love mushrooms.

Erica [00:20:03]:
So great. We love the mushroom reinvention. Um, you know, kale had its thing, cauliflower had its thing. I think mushrooms are it. Um, you know, I think having Asian and Southeast Asian flavors are so great to see. We've seen that for a while. We talked about that in fancy food. Um, like ramen flavored things are super hot right now.

Erica [00:20:23]:
Actually, RTD ramen— or not RTD, ready to eat— RTE ramen.

Jules [00:20:27]:
Yeah.

Erica [00:20:28]:
Ready-to-drink ramen would be.

Jules [00:20:30]:
That would be gross.

Erica [00:20:31]:
Interesting.

Jules [00:20:32]:
Like, I'm gonna call it gross.

Erica [00:20:34]:
Like a, like a whey— in a way, picture this, a whey-infused protein water that is a curry ramen flavor.

Jules [00:20:45]:
You first.

Erica [00:20:47]:
I can't wait. Um, so I think like ready-to-eat ramen and that kind of like things. I think ube, we're seeing Thankfully, I love ube and like, I wish that it got more hype, but like Starbucks just launched an ube drink. It's not that great, but they just launched an ube drink.

Jules [00:21:06]:
It's not that great.

Erica [00:21:08]:
I mean, it's like it needs a lot more sugar and a lot more ube flavor. But I'm also like a stickler for strong ube flavor if you're going to do it. Like I made a beer years ago that was ube flavored. Holidaily. And people were not ready for ube. They were just like, what the fuck is this? It is purple. I am not interested in this. And I'm like, it's ube.

Erica [00:21:29]:
It's incredible. Yeah, Japanese. Like, it's like, anyway, you're so ahead of the game. Ube has seen the revolution that I think it needs. And you're going to love this. And I did not get to try it because that would be really gross to try on the show floor. But Nature's Charm, who does all the sweetened condensed milk, made an ube sweetened condensed um, milk for ube, and it is incredible, and I want to taste it so bad. But you also just like can't taste sweetened condensed milk that big.

Jules [00:21:57]:
What are they suggesting its best use is for? What kind of recipe?

Erica [00:22:01]:
I mean, so I think that you can do it in drinks but also baking, right? So sweetened condensed milk for anything that you use, you can just do it in ube flavor, and it's great.

Jules [00:22:09]:
I'm just trying to imagine that, like, what a recipe like I use sweetened condensed milk for things like 7-layer bars, you know, like Magic Bars or cinnamon rolls. Yeah, I guess you could. I don't use it in my cinnamon rolls, but you could.

Erica [00:22:28]:
You know, anyway, that's a cool thing. I think like ube, I guess we saw on the show floor for years now. Obviously I've been an ube superfan since before it became cool, but we're finally seeing things like Starbucks. So like, that's how long it's taken. For someone like Starbucks, a mainstream, right, to trickle down. And we'll see if that becomes a permanent flavor like the lavender did. I don't know if people know what ube is because there is this TikTok going around where someone goes, I got the OOB latte, and people are like, I'm sorry, what? The OOB latte? And I'm like, oh my God, it's ube, Jesus Christ.

Jules [00:23:05]:
But you know, they said that, they're serious.

Erica [00:23:09]:
Yes.

Jules [00:23:09]:
Okay. All right.

Erica [00:23:12]:
But like, you know, if people don't— if that's not your thing, right? If you're not always like going to look for the next new flavor or whatever, I feel like it's finally trickling down and we're seeing— we'll see how it goes. But I think that that's how long that trend has taken to trickle down to like reality, to normal people, to the Starbucks in every corner. I will, I will tell you, we did have a lot of really great launches for packaged goods that are gluten-free or allergy-friendly, and I would like to share some of my favorites with you.

Jules [00:23:52]:
I would love to be here for that.

Erica [00:23:53]:
Fantastic. Please, please, be my guest. Now, I will tell you, I did not get to taste a lot of these, which is so unfortunate, um, because I can't tell you what they tasted like, but I will tell you that other people have tasted them and they were very excited.

Jules [00:24:08]:
Okay.

Erica [00:24:09]:
Which is such a bummer because I wish that I was there.

Jules [00:24:12]:
Um, maybe you can get some samples. Yeah, you can come back to us and tell us.

Erica [00:24:16]:
So Everybody Eat, um, the company Everybody Eat—

Jules [00:24:20]:
yeah, I saw those.

Erica [00:24:21]:
Yeah, they have the, um, the Cheeseless Thins that I love, which are like the Cheez-It alternative that are dairy-free. Um, they made pretzel thins So everyone was talking about it, so excited. I cannot wait. Um, I love the thinness and the crunchiness of their crackers, and everything they do is allergen-free. And they also, I believe, um, hire formerly incarcerated people to work in their Chicago plant. I mean, they're just such a great company. Yeah, we love them, so we like to support them. Um, there is one thing that I tried that like really blew my mind, and it's like really shocking that I Uh, that nobody's made this before or thought of a reason why they would make it, but it's called Little Latkes and they're literally just like small fried latke chips.

Erica [00:25:10]:
And it's almost— she said that it was like inspired by her grandmother's latke recipe, those little like burnt ends at the end when you make a latke that like stayed on for too long. Oh my god, they're so good.

Jules [00:25:21]:
So is it like a potato, like a thick potato chip?

Erica [00:25:24]:
It's like a— yeah, it's like a— no, like a latke. Yeah, just like those, but like small and like in a, in a potato chip bag.

Jules [00:25:32]:
But is it chewy or is it—

Erica [00:25:35]:
no, it's crunchy. Okay. They're so freaking good.

Jules [00:25:39]:
I love latkes.

Erica [00:25:40]:
And there was just like a small booth, like just, just launched, and that was one of the ones.

Jules [00:25:47]:
Like, oh my God, are they fried in beef tallow?

Erica [00:25:49]:
No, they're not.

Jules [00:25:50]:
Thank God.

Erica [00:25:50]:
Jesus Christ.

Jules [00:25:52]:
Coming next year.

Erica [00:25:54]:
Yeah, I'm sure. Gotham Greens, who does my favorite vegan goddess dip and favorite vegan Caesar and favorite vegan ranch— it's in the refrigerated section, usually found at Whole Foods or Sprouts or Natural Grocers— they launched new dairy-free dips that are queso and buffalo. And they are so good. I love Gotham Greens. Um, their vegan stuff is very good, so I always look for like new vegan dips or new vegan cheeses that I can take somewhere. And, uh, these would be so great for a party. And to find a buffalo dip is like really rare. Normally have to make that.

Erica [00:26:34]:
Um, so I'm pretty stoked about that.

Jules [00:26:36]:
Do you, do you know, do you recall what the queso, what the foundation of it is? Like, what is what makes it taste so cheesy? Is it like magic? Oh, okay. Well, you should have led with that.

Erica [00:26:49]:
I know. Um, so my favorite— I've got a couple favorite things that I actually did get a chance to try. Um, Simple Mills launched dairy-free Pop'ems. So they had these like cheddar cheese Pop'ems last year and two years ago when they launched it, and that contained dairy. So I'm like, that's cool that you're making basically Cheez-Its But like, I can't eat them, so thanks. Um, but they launched two new pop-ups this year, pop-ums this year, which are like little tiny, little tiny things, um, that are like cracker slash cookie-ish things. They're called like snack crackers. Um, they're dairy-free and they are chocolate and then also cinnamon, and they're so freaking good.

Erica [00:27:29]:
And they're made with coconut milk and they're so yummy, and I love them so much. And I'm so happy that there's another dairy-free cookie, cookie slash sweet cracker from them that is, that I can eat. And it was also very good. And I am super sorry, I think Pigeon wants some side. Too bad, too bad, so sad. She wants my Poppins. And Partake also launched this mini cookie bag. It's like, it's like a, it's like a big bag.

Jules [00:28:05]:
Yay, big.

Erica [00:28:06]:
It's a very large bag of mini cookies, and I swear to God, they're the best. I think they're better than any of their other cookies.

Jules [00:28:14]:
Oh, they're period flour though, probably.

Erica [00:28:18]:
Yeah, but they're also so tiny, and you can turn it into cookie crunch cereal, and it is so dangerous and so wonderful.

Jules [00:28:27]:
That's a late night cookie cereal.

Erica [00:28:29]:
We went through that bag so quickly. It was—

Jules [00:28:32]:
I can see where this is going.

Erica [00:28:33]:
Oh my God, it's so good. It's so good. Partake also launched some new breakfast biscuits, which are gonna be obviously oat-based, but I did not get a chance to see them or try them. So look for those. I think they're trying to like, so right now for breakfast biscuits, we have Sweet Lauren's, we have Goodie Girl, and now we're gonna have Partake. So now we'll have 3 gluten-free breakfast biscuit options, um, available to us. So I think that that's amazing because every time one of them launched, I'm like, this is so cool, I love breakfast biscuits. And then of course we still have Narn's, which is like the old school first one to launch the breakfast biscuits.

Erica [00:29:23]:
Um, so we're living the dream, we're living the breakfast biscuit dream. And I'm sure that that's not the first thing that you would ever do for breakfast, but I love dipping them into coffee and they're so freaking good.

Jules [00:29:33]:
Well, I'm glad that you have your breakfast biscuit dream, uh, realized.

Erica [00:29:40]:
Yeah.

Jules [00:29:40]:
Yes.

Erica [00:29:40]:
I mean, I haven't tasted the Partake ones. They're like brand, brand new, so we'll see when they come out. Um, but speaking of breakfast, Sweet Lorenz, um, just launched a new line of scones that are ready to bake and, um, oat bars that are ready to bake. So as you know, they have the ready-to-bake cookies. That is what they're known for. Um, but they launched the new scones, which are really exciting, that they have new opportunities for the ready-to-bake line. Um, I think a lot of people are going to be excited about that. I do not know what the ingredients are, don't ask me, but I'm very excited to see them launch.

Erica [00:30:18]:
Yes. Um, but that is a really exciting launch from Sweet Loren's. I mean, I think, um, they hired, uh, the old CEO of Rudi's Gluten Free back when we just started, Doug, and I think that they are just like non-stop innovating and they're getting endless store shelves. I mean, everyone, like, they're like, sure, fine. I mean, they're in every Target, they're everywhere. It's, it's really great to see. Um, it may not be your favorite product, but you can't deny it is so lovely to see a gluten-free brand that is everywhere and accessible to most people. Um, a couple of other ones—

Jules [00:30:59]:
Doug's great, so—

Erica [00:31:00]:
and Doug's great. We like Doug. So a couple of other things that I want to highlight. Lil' Bucks, known for their buckwheat clusters, is doing something totally radical and has made Rice Krispie treats with buckwheat. And they're cool. They're very good.

Jules [00:31:14]:
Awesome.

Erica [00:31:15]:
I cannot wait for them to launch.

Jules [00:31:16]:
Are they using vegan marshmallows?

Erica [00:31:19]:
That's a great question. I don't know on that. Oh, that is a good question. Okay. Things I need to learn. So they are brand, brand, brand, brand new. Like, I don't even know if those are the final ingredients, but those are frickin' good. Cool.

Erica [00:31:33]:
They're very good. So I'm very excited for that. Again, more like to make people feel normal, right? So if everyone else gets a Rice Krispie Treat, if someone can bring that in, awesome. Made Good— or not Made Good. Made Good also has a Rice Krispie Treat. That's not what I'm talking about today.

Jules [00:31:50]:
But they have— they've had it for a while.

Erica [00:31:52]:
I'm pretty sure that they've launched a couple new products, but I didn't get to see them. And honestly, I feel like they don't have enough hype around things. Um, yeah, I don't know, their stuff is so interesting. They also launched like the Pop'Em varieties that are dairy-free. Some people like them, I do not. Um, they're such an interesting brand. I don't know how I quite feel about them, but they're Canadian, so I already kind of like them, so they get a pass. Yeah, so they get—

Jules [00:32:18]:
everything's better because they're Canadian, and they use Purity Protocol, and they use Purity Protocol, so we like them even more.

Erica [00:32:26]:
Um, okay, two more things just to run through. Good Pop, uh, who does, uh, I like the ice creams, um, and the dairy-free ice creams.

Jules [00:32:36]:
I gotta tell your story about that.

Erica [00:32:39]:
Dairy-free creamsicles, which are so good. They have a peach creamsicle. Oh my God, it is so good. And they had the orange creamsicle two years ago, and it's so good. And so because that was so good, they launched 2 new creamsicles, a raspberry and a peach. And then they launched a non-dairy-free one that contains like real dairy, but I tried to tell them they need to make a dairy-free version of this. It is a french fry chocolate combo. So imagine an ice cream bar wrapped in chocolate, but instead of like the crunchies on the outside, they're like potato chips or like, like french fries.

Jules [00:33:18]:
Okay, okay.

Erica [00:33:18]:
So like, like a heart. That makes more sense. So it's like salty, sweet.

Jules [00:33:22]:
I'm on board with that. Yes, yes.

Erica [00:33:25]:
It's not as gross as it may seem.

Jules [00:33:27]:
Yes, I was imagining like inside of it or something, and that like soggy french fries and milk. No, yum. No, but crunchy, salty on the outside, I'm down with that. Although I love chocolate salt.

Erica [00:33:42]:
Speaking about weird milks, I saw that, um, Oatly is making a popcorn-flavored milk. Okay, so if we're talking about like sweet salty milks, I think the next thing we're gonna do or we're gonna see, mark my words, is a beef tallow fried french fry infused milk. I'm just— I'm gonna put money on it. I'm gonna put like $5, invest in a high-yield bond right now, and if 4 years from now we see a beef tallow french fry infused milk, you're gonna be like, where was I? Erica was so right.

Jules [00:34:26]:
I haven't had lunch yet, but I'm gonna lose it.

Erica [00:34:29]:
I just don't—

Jules [00:34:30]:
so anyway, so anyway, if I can't try this popcorn milk, like, I don't care what kind of milk it is, like, even non-dairy milk, I can't drink it. It just like grosses me out, the thought of drinking milk. And then you just added added all of those layers of nasty to it. And it's okay.

Erica [00:34:46]:
But like, going back to the real product that's out right now, popcorn infused— yeah, dairy-free milk. Would you drink it?

Jules [00:34:54]:
I would.

Erica [00:34:54]:
If it was in a latte, you'd try it?

Jules [00:34:57]:
I would try it. I, I would try a popcorn latte.

Erica [00:35:02]:
I bet it just tastes like butter and salt.

Jules [00:35:04]:
Yeah, yeah, I love salt, so I would try that.

Erica [00:35:07]:
Okay, so last one. Now that I totally grossed you out, but I think you'll enjoy I know I do not know the ingredients. I'm so sorry.

Jules [00:35:14]:
All right.

Erica [00:35:15]:
Everyone was talking about Siete. Siete has a million dollars now because they're now owned by Coca-Cola. They launched two new tortillas. You know, we know them from like the cassava tortillas, almond tortillas. They launched a sourdough-style tortilla that puffs up. That's like a real, like, legit tortilla. Again, gluten-free. Obviously.

Erica [00:35:38]:
And then they also launched a corn-based tortilla, which is like a fresh tortilla. So one that you still have to cook just like the, um, just like the other ones that you have to like pan sear. Right. Um, so I think that that's going to be great because Siete has so much shelf space in so many places. I think we're going to see more like traditional tortillas instead of everything just be corn-based or like weird cassava-based. Um, so I'm excited for them as they continue to expand. They're going to do nothing but expand.

Jules [00:36:04]:
I'm interested to see the ingredients on that sourdough one. That's really intriguing because whenever someone puts style next to it, then kind of makes you think it's not actually sourdough.

Erica [00:36:15]:
Oh, I'm going to assume that it's not actually sourdough, but it's going to be a little tangy. Is it going to be apple cider vinegar? What is it going to be?

Jules [00:36:22]:
Yeah, exactly. Okay, cool.

Erica [00:36:25]:
I like that. So I think that, I mean, and I think that there were like maybe a handful more items that are like, this is cool, this is whatever, like I would definitely eat, but, um, I think, uh, we're just— we're seeing innovation in the spaces that I laid out. We're seeing more stuff. We're seeing more like Goody Girl— speaking about bouncing back to Goody Girl— Goody Girl made trail mixes, like 4 different trail mixes. So we're seeing all these things that are like, finally gluten-free has the ability to have like a grab-and-go option for something like a trail mix or Rice Krispie bar or something that's really, really easy. Now it may not be the most nutritious this, but we've got options and I think that that's important. I think of these as like airport snacks, right?

Jules [00:37:08]:
Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Erica [00:37:09]:
So like, so, okay, great. Of course I would pick that.

Jules [00:37:10]:
Speaking of that, hold please, because I, I have one that I wanted to share with you, but I want to go get it. So the other thing that I wanted to point out that again, I wasn't at Expo, but I have been keeping track of the releases that are coming out and this brand that you and I are absolutely in love with. and we usually linger around the booth. The Quinn snacks, and this was their release this year. They're peanut butter filled pretzels, and these things are banging. Like, I—

Erica [00:37:44]:
Are they so good?

Jules [00:37:46]:
They're so good. They're not good for you, but they're so good.

Erica [00:37:51]:
They're perfectly fine for you. Don't let Jules yell at you for eating the entire bag.

Jules [00:37:56]:
They're dangerous. I try not to. But they do have protein in them, but, um, but they're, uh, yeah, they're so— they're really tasty.

Erica [00:38:05]:
They're literally like that, um, from the fancy food, because I saw them and I'm like, oh my God, we're gonna be obsessed. I know, they're so— they're so much better than I wanted to. Like, and the peanut butter one is good too, um, but oh my gosh, yeah, anything Quinn does, I'm like, I'll eat all of it.

Jules [00:38:22]:
I don't understand, they're just amazing. I love Quinn. Like that.

Erica [00:38:25]:
Serving sizes are not appropriate though.

Jules [00:38:27]:
They're not appropriate. They're like 2. I'm like, you mean 2 handfuls, right? Yeah.

Erica [00:38:33]:
And then just like, yeah. So those are— that's the finds from Expo S, and I'm sure that, you know, you'll continue to see products featured on our Instagram pages, our Instagram stories, um, a future podcast if we get samples of these things as they are ready to be distributed to the main, um, consumer base. You know, some of these again are just brand spanking new. They may still have ingredient changes before they hit the mainstream. But overall, some good stuff coming out, and really excited about the future of gluten-free food, minus the beef tallow, minus the whey protein, minus the bullshit about anything that RFK Jr. says. And I think we're, um, I think we're, we're, uh, we're in for another year of exciting products launches.

Jules [00:39:19]:
Yep, can't wait. But, um, yeah, and if you guys hear of anything that we haven't covered that you'd like for us explore or just share, please let us know.

Erica [00:39:30]:
Well, thanks for tuning in to another episode of You Had Me at Eat. Thanks for listening to our Expo West recap. We can't wait to hear from you on what you saw on the show floor if you attended the show. So please let us know. You can always email us or message us on our social media account. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of You Had Me at Eat, the number one voted gluten-free podcast. We appreciate your listens, your shares. Please Share this with a friend, share this with an enemy.

Erica [00:39:55]:
As long as you share, we don't care.

Jules [00:39:57]:
That's right. Thanks for tuning in to You Had Me At Eat, the number one voted gluten-free podcast in the country. Remember to like and subscribe, tell all your friends, and we'll talk to you next time.

Erica [00:40:18]:
Mm-hmm.